Here's What I'm Here For
by whenidance
Summary: 5 years after graduation, Rachel & Kurt run into a billboard with Blaine's face on it in Times Square. They sneak in to watch him rehearse  because it's not the first time they've broken into Gershwin  hoping to rekindle the friendship they once had.
1. Chapter 1

If there was someone Kurt tried not to think about, that person was Blaine Anderson.

He didn't hate Blaine. Of course not. He and Blaine had parted on amicable terms when Kurt left for New York with Rachel after graduation. He still kept in touch with Tina and Artie from time to time and they'd drop him little hints here and there, but Kurt never asked for more info. The last he'd heard, Blaine wasn't coming to New York after graduation. He was off to LA, or San Francisco, or somewhere warmish where he could continue not wearing socks.

It was stupid. Kurt just … didn't like to think about Blaine. It was his choice to not keep in contact with Blaine. The ball had been left in his court when he left for New York, and he thought it would be easier on both of them to get a little distance between them – aside from the physical distance. Looking back, his relationship with Blaine had been easy and blissful for the most part – but isn't that what first love is supposed to be?

That's what he kept telling himself, anyways. That's what he told himself when he never clicked with anyone quite like Blaine – he was an adult now. It wasn't supposed to be easy. There had been school, sure, but there had also been work and productions and who had time for easy? Everyone he'd met since moving to New York had the attitude of 'conform to my world because I don't have time to conform to yours' and after five and a half years of dating in the city, Kurt had picked up some of that as well. At least _he realized_ it.

And, okay, maybe Kurt _had_ been thinking about Blaine a bit lately, because he was in between relationships and instead of going to their five year reunion, he and Rachel had stayed in New York with alcohol and old recordings of New Directions performances, on the standing that five year reunions are _stupid_, no one's life is fabulous when you've just graduated from college and are trying to find your way in the world. Nostalgia had reared its ugly head, and Kurt had been two mouse clicks and a half a bottle of wine away from googling Blaine's name a few weeks back. In the end, he called Finn instead, getting caught up on the actual reunion. Finn went, of course, because his life of a wife and kid with a townhouse in Brooklyn was just wholesome enough for Lima to eat up with a spoon.

So, really, it's the last thing he expected to see while having breakfast on the run with Rachel. One bagel, half for each of them, and two cups of black coffee while they were on the run to a yoga session with some half rate celebrity turned fitness instructor that Rachel had purchased for them on Groupon. Kurt complained and complained because they had to trek all the way down to Times Square on a _Saturday_ of all things, and fight tourists and the unbearable September cold snap that had come through the night before, and what the hell more were they going to learn from some nobody, anyways?

Rachel noticed it first, stopping dead in her tracks and staring upwards. "Come on, what are you doing?" Kurt huffed, tapping his foot. "We're going to be late for this stupid thing, the stupid thing _you_ of all people insisted we go to…"

He finally looked up to where she was pointing and saw why she was gaping. It was Blaine's _face_. Forty stories high on a Broadway poster. Blaine was accompanied by a whole football team in vintage costumes, standing behind him and much smaller.

"Rachel, how did we not _know_ about this?" Kurt hissed as he continued to stare at the poster. "You're married to a Broadway _producer_for god's sake, _how did we not know about this_?"

"It's at Gershwin," Rachel managed to squeak out, still gaping. "Frank doesn't bring up anything that's going on at Gershwin, ever, because it's not Wicked." Thanks to Frank, Rachel and Kurt had attended Wicked's closing show, and Rachel had clung to Kurt, practically sobbing the whole entire time – for how far they'd come since they first set foot on that stage, and how far they hadn't.

Once Kurt got over the shock of seeing Blaine's face plastered on a building, he actually read the words underneath. _Tackled! A brand new musical in the historic Gershwin Theater with Blaine Anderson in his Broadway debut, opening October 9th_.

Kurt, like Rachel, had purposefully skipped over articles which concerned the Gershwin Theater for the past six months in his morning news roundup, because in his mind, _nothing_ could replace Wicked. "How did neither of us know he was here though?" Kurt finally asked after a lull of staring and silence.

Rachel shrugged. "He went to California for school, right? It does say Broadway debut, maybe he just got here. You know … if it's at Gershwin … it's not like we haven't snuck in before." Rachel's eyes were twinkling, and Kurt had to admit, checking the show out was a much better idea than the yoga class she was dragging him to.

"I suppose it has been a few years since we dropped in unexpectedly. Your bachelorette party was, what, two years ago?" Kurt mentioned it just to get a rise out of Rachel – her bachelorette party ended with a group of them sneaking into Gershwin at three in the morning, in various states of intoxication, and the guard a little less forgiving than the last time they were there. Frank had to come down and sort it all out, and it was A Thing, one that was never to be mentioned again.

"Oh, be quiet!" Rachel squealed. She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before another thought popped into her head. "Come on, let's drop our bags with our yoga stuff at Frank's office before we go so we have less to carry and don't get caught. And before you start, you look fine, which it doesn't matter, because we're _not_ going to get caught this time."

Kurt gave her his 'bitch, please' look, because their track record proved otherwise, but went along just the same and made Rachel stop at a bathroom in Frank's building so he could at least check his hair.

It wasn't difficult sneaking up and into the mezzanine – with rehearsals going strong, all sorts of people were coming or going, and the two of them had spent enough time in theaters over the years to not be conspicuous. They settled into a pair of seats on the end of a row and watched the scene before them silently. From what Kurt could gather, the musical looked like it was based on football in the 1920s, which made Kurt chuckle – Blaine had always lamented in high school that he was too short to play, so of course he'd find a role that let him. He just had to be transplanted a century backwards.

Kurt exchanged a glance with Rachel. Blaine was good, really good – he somehow made the absurdity of the role work. The delivery of his character's lines was hilarious instead of campy, unlike some of the other actors. Barnaby Andrews was supposed to rally together a whole football team with his charisma, and charisma was something Blaine had in spades. They moved in place for what seemed to be their closing number, and Rachel grabbed onto Kurt's arm, smiling at him slightly. As Blaine led the rest of the cast in singing about how football was the greatest game on earth, Kurt saw him squint slightly up towards the mezzanine.

"Crap, Rachel, he made us," Kurt whispered, and he half thought about sneaking out before it was over, while Blaine's back was turned. "So much for not getting caught."

"Oh well!" Rachel said, grinning, and Kurt just gaped at her. Of course she'd want to track Blaine down either way. The number finished with a flourish, and the director praised the cast, telling them to break for lunch. Blaine turned to a few of his castmates, talking low enough where Kurt and Rachel couldn't hear him all the way in the mezzanine. Kurt was about to tell Rachel they should go when Blaine turned and yelled up to them, "Meet me in the lobby!"

Rachel waved and was still grinning wildly, crashing her shoulder into Kurt. He was going to kill her, he was sure of it. If he hadn't seen her face when she saw the billboard with his own two eyes, he'd accuse her of planning the whole thing outright. "I hate you," he hissed at her as they made their way to the lobby. "Why couldn't we just wait and accidentally run into him somewhere else? Like normal stalkers do?"

Rachel patted his arm as they made their way down the stairs. "Oh, Kurt, I'm just speeding everything along. Do you know how much time normal stalking takes?"

Kurt saw Blaine first, because he could pinpoint the exact moment when Blaine saw him and Rachel. His eyes widened and his grin was rivaling Rachel's, and he raced up to them, pulling them both in a bone crushing hug.

"When I saw movement up there, I knew for sure it had to be you guys. I'd been meaning to look you both up to see if you still lived in town, but it's been crazy – you guys look amazing! Sorry, I'm rambling, this is just a surprise." Blaine pulled back from the hug to catch his breath, and Kurt's face softened, because this was Blaine, after all.

"You looked incredible up there. Really, really amazing," Kurt said, smiling warmly and still holding onto Blaine's arm, crap, he should let go, but he really couldn't bring himself to.

Rachel burst in at that point. "You were just _brilliant_, Blaine! Kurt and I haven't been following the show much, since you know, it's replacing Wicked and all, and we had no idea until we were walking through Times Square earlier and then boom! There your face was! Forty stories high!" Rachel exclaimed.

Blaine laughed at Rachel's bubbliness. "Yeah, I guess that went up earlier today, I still haven't seen it. Crazy, right?"

"You haven't seen it?" Rachel exclaimed. "Blaine, you have to see it – do you have time now?"

"Rachel, the man is putting on a Broadway show, he doesn't have time to go running down to Times Square with us!" Even though Kurt wouldn't turn down more time with Blaine, he knew it was highly unrealistic. Even though it was lunchtime, he probably had meetings or –

"No, actually, I've got an hour free. Do you guys mind? I mean, I know it's cheesy, but it all really hasn't set in yet, and it would be really lame of me to go alone." Blaine silently pleaded with Kurt, and damn, that still worked after five years of not seeing him. Good to know.

After a stop at a Starbucks for coffee for the three of them and a sandwich for Blaine, they were off. "Enough about me," Blaine said as they walked down the block. "How are you guys? What are you up to? It's – it's really good to see you." Blaine's eyes met Kurt at that point, and he had to agree. As weird as the whole situation was, it definitely was good to see Blaine.

Rachel never missed an opportunity to talk about herself, so the moment was gone as soon as it came. "I had vocal cord surgery during our sophomore year and can't sing professionally anymore, sadly," she said with a sigh. It had been three years and Kurt thought she was almost over it. Almost. "But, on the upside, I did meet my husband, Frank, because of it! He was looking to cast me in this revival of A Chorus Line he was producing, but because I couldn't sing, well, we started dating. I'm Rachel Wagner now and I work for NYADA as a consultant and recruiter – they've started actively recruiting from glee and drama clubs now that they've opened up admissions a bit."

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear, Rachel," Blaine said, frowning – if there was anyone who understood what Rachel not being able to sing aside from Kurt, it was Blaine. "It seems like things have worked out for you though."

Rachel gave him a genuine smile. "They really have, I'm happy. And Kurt," Rachel continued, looking over at him, and oh god, who knew what she was going to say about what Kurt had been up to for the last five years. "Kurt is running this wonderful new little boutique in Chelsea, Selene & Endymion."

"No performing for you either, then?" Blaine asked before taking a bite of his turkey sandwich, and he seemed sad about the whole thing.

"No, apparently even a degree with honors from NYADA doesn't get someone like me roles right out of school," Kurt said with a laugh, it coming out a bit more bitter than he intended it to. "I actually switched to NYADA's costuming program my junior year and haven't given up working in the industry, per se, but the boutique thing fell into my lap and it takes up a lot of my time."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "The boutique thing just fell into your lap? Kurt's being modest – it's Frannie Richardson's boutique, the costume designer? We worked with her at NYADA, and she'd wanted to open a boutique for a long time. Kurt was the one who pushed her to do it, and then this contract gig in London came up that she couldn't refuse but it started a week after she had planned to open – she was going to can the whole thing until Kurt stepped in. It's practically Kurt's shop, it's just her name on the door. I still say she doesn't pay you enough for what you do," Rachel said, eyeing Kurt over her cup of coffee.

"Oh, she pays me plenty," Kurt replied, glaring back at Rachel, because they'd had this discussion a dozen times already. "I enjoy what I do, that's a lot more than other people get to say," he added, offering Blaine a smile.

"I'm glad you enjoy what you do, Kurt. So, Rachel has Frank, you seeing anyone special?" Blaine asked before tossing the wrapper from his sandwich in a nearby trashcan.

There it was. The question Kurt had been avoiding for the last twenty minutes. "No, you?" was all Kurt could get out, and in the seconds after he asked, Blaine's face was unreadable.

"There is someone I'm seeing. Todd's in LA though. He comes in on Monday for the week though," Blaine said, face brightening in realization. "The five of us should go out to dinner next week! It'll be fun." He grinned at both Kurt and Rachel as they turned the corner.

"It will be!" Rachel said, clapping her hands together. "You get off early on Wednesdays, right Kurt? So we can shoot for that! I'll make reservations somewhere."

The last thing Kurt wanted was to be the fifth wheel, but he didn't want to hurt Blaine's feelings. "I do get out early Wednesdays. Great idea, I can't wait to meet him." Kurt smiled warmly again at Blaine who returned it, only breaking their eye contact when they heard Rachel squeal.

They'd reached Times Square and the three of them stood staring up, the cold wind whipping around them. Kurt turned to watch Blaine while his emotions changed on his face. "Feels real now, huh?" Kurt asked as Rachel curled her arms around Blaine's waist to hug him – she would deny it later but she was definitely sniffling.

"Yeah," Blaine said, heaving a sigh. "I mean, I moved here in July after graduation and it's been go, go, go since then, and I just really haven't had much of a moment to sit and _think_ about what it all means, you know?"

Blaine had one arm wrapped around Rachel's shoulders and he reached his free hand out to squeeze Kurt's. Kurt tried to not jump from the surprise contact and looked over at Blaine questioningly. "I know we haven't kept in the best contact over the years – or okay, any contact, but it really means a lot to me that you're both here now."

Kurt tried not to melt inside and squeezed Blaine's hand back, firm and sure.

After a few minutes of silent staring, a few people had realized it was Blaine on the billboard and were pointing back and forth. Blaine was too transfixed on the poster to even notice. Kurt finally asked, "So, I have to know how you got the role."

Blaine dropped his gaze away from the poster and chuckled. "It was my last semester at UC Irvine and my roommate, Vale, reads in the paper they're casting for Tackled! She reads the summary out loud and tells me I have to audition, it's the perfect show for me. So, I audition, thinking that any part would be awesome, and I get called back for Barnaby. Long story short, they gave me the role in May, I graduated in June, I was here in July. What?" he asked, grinning when he saw Kurt shaking his head.

"You _are_ the type of person who would get a leading role without even graduating. I mean that as a compliment," Kurt said, squeezing Blaine's hand again, and well, shit – he was still holding that wasn't he? He let go of Blaine's hand, and it was if the moment had snapped, Blaine glancing at his watch and realizing the time.

"Shit, I'm going to be late. Do you guys have cards?" he asked, reaching in his pocket for his wallet. They exchanged cards and Rachel promised to be in touch about Wednesday. Blaine hugged her tightly, saying something quietly to her that Kurt didn't catch, before turning to hug Kurt just as tightly.

"I'll have to stalk you more often," Kurt joked as he squeezed Blaine's shoulders.

Blaine smiled slightly before saying, "You better, I'll be counting on it." He leaned in further to whisper just loud enough for Kurt himself to hear. "You're just as stunning as I remember, Kurt."

Blaine broke their embrace before Kurt had a chance to respond. "I really do have to run. Let me know the plan for Wednesday, okay?" he said before turning and breaking into a jog. He waved right before he sprinted across the street and only then did Kurt turn to face Rachel.

They stared at each other for a moment before Rachel asked, "You're getting him back, aren't you?"

The side of Kurt's mouth began to quirk up. If Blaine was happy, he was happy. But if he wasn't?

"No question."


	2. Chapter 2

Wednesday, of course, didn't go as planned. Rachel had made reservations for their favorite Italian restaurant in Midtown and Kurt had double checked that his assistant manager, Mark, was coming in promptly at three. That meant he'd be able to leave at four, rush home to freshen up, and still meet everyone at six thirty.

What he didn't plan on was Mark having the flu and sending him home an hour into his shift. He sent out apology texts to Blaine and Rachel, and not a second later, his phone rang.

"Kurt Hummel!" Rachel screeched on the other end. "Are you bailing on me?"

"I don't have a choice, Rachel! Mark was _this close_ to losing his lunch all over a stack of Tahari dresses that just came in this morning. I would have killed him if we had to eat that cost. He luckily made it to the office," Kurt huffed, grabbing the hangers and moving the dresses far, far away from the mess. "Kels is out of town on vacation, so that only leaves me to lock up."

"I can't believe you're bailing on me," Rachel whined, as if she hadn't heard a word he said.

"Listen. We close at nine, I should be out of here by ten, at the latest, earlier if we're slow. If you're still out and about then, let me know where to meet you." The last thing Kurt wanted to do after a twelve hour day was be social, but he figured it was the least he could do.

Rachel called him at nine forty-five, just as Kurt was locking the doors to Selene & Endymion. "I'm at home, but you could stop by on your way back and I'll tell you _everything_." Rachel sounded drunk, so Kurt knew he'd get the most detailed intel that way, and stopped at the Wagner's brownstone before heading to his own apartment.

"Sorry for bailing on you guys," Kurt told Frank when he let him into the house. "I really didn't want to."

"No bother," Frank said, waving him upstairs. Rachel was probably already in bed. "So, you and this Blaine used to date?"

"Yeah, in high school. A long time ago."

"Huh," was all Frank said before heading back into the living room. Kurt could hear the news on in the background.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurt called after him, finally heading up the stairs when Frank merely shrugged.

"Kuuuuuuuuuuuuurt," Rachel whined when he headed in the bedroom and flopped belly first onto the bed. Yeah, she was drunk. "Why weren't you there, Kurt?"

"I had to work, sweetie," he said, climbing up towards the pillows so he could stroke her hair. "How did it go?"

"Good. Todd's a nice guy, I guess. Tall, taller than Frank." Kurt bit his lip to keep from laughing - _Blaine_ was probably taller than Frank. Rachel's husband was good looking, he'd give her that, but tall he was not. "Dark and handsome too. But..." Rachel trailed off, tracing her fingers on the pattern in Kurt's scarf.

"But?" Kurt probed. What was the catch? There had to be one.

"But ..." Rachel sighed heavily and looked up towards Kurt. "He's not the one, Kurt. He doesn't love Blaine. Blaine deserves better. Blaine deserves _you_."

"Oh, Rachel." She sure was laying it on thick. "What a good friend you are." He ran his hand down her hair, mindlessly stroking it. "What does he do anyways?"

Rachel groaned. "He works at some bookstore in LA. He was kind of pretentious about the whole thing - but not in a good way! He just had this air like he was better than us and I wanted to say, look, man, you work at a bookstore!" Rachel dissolved into giggles at that point and Kurt joined in.

"Oh, I really wish I'd been there to witness that. I really, really do." Kurt wiped at his eyes, tears forming from laughing so hard.

"So, what are you going to do to get him back? You need a _plan_, Kurt," Rachel said, very serious all of the sudden.

"Blaine needs to figure out that Todd's wrong for him on his own, honey. It would be nice if I could push that along, though." Kurt's phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket to find a text from Blaine.

_Sorry you couldn't make it - we missed you! We'll have to plan something else soon!_

"What does it say, what does it say," Rachel begged, rattling Kurt's arm back and forth. He laughed and told her, typing out a response as quickly as he could with one hand.

_Wish I could have made it too! Keep me posted as to when you guys have free time. My other asst manager is back on Fri & things should calm down for me._

"Alright, you," Kurt said, patting Rachel on the head. "I better go get my beauty sleep if I have to be at the shop all day again tomorrow."

"Yes, you need to be beautiful for Blaine," Rachel said, patting his leg in the same fashion, albeit much more haphazard.

"Rachel, I'm not seeing Blaine any time in the immediate future," he said, climbing off the bed.

"You never know!" she called out, sinking back into her pillows and waving goodbye at him.

Kurt really, really should have asked her to clarify.

-

Thursday was a busy day with a steady stream of clients. It finally died down around eight, and Kurt told his three sales associates they could start cleaning up then and leave when they were finished, even though the store was open until nine. Kurt had frankly had enough, and he really doubted someone was going to swoop in that late and drop thousands of dollars. Anything less wasn't worth it to him at that point. Kurt was really glad Kels would be back the next day to open and he could actually sleep in.

There wasn't much tidying up to do, so Kurt was alone by eight twenty, and by eight thirty he headed to the back to get through some paperwork. He heard the doorbell chime at eight thirty-eight, and why _hadn't_ he locked the doors? "I'm sorry, we're closed," he said, rounding the corner and seeing Blaine standing in the middle of his store. "Oh. Well, the management always does reserve the right to change his mind," Kurt said with a smile. He self-consciously ran a hand through his hair. He knew he had to look like a dead man walking after two twelve hour days of being on his feet in a row.

"Oh, that's good then," Blaine replied, grinning and playing along. "I've heard this shop has exceptional management."

"I really am sorry about last night," Kurt offered, gesturing around. "As you can see, we're a little short staffed at the moment."

"I noticed! I'm sorry about coming so late, I think I had the cab driver from hell on the way here. I had no clue it would take so long. I could come back if you want. I actually - I'm looking for a suit for our opening next week." Blaine shoved his hands in his coat pockets and laughed, eyes trailing down to the floor. "I still can't believe it's happening, but it is, and I need to not be naked - I mean," Blaine stammered, blushing fiercely, and Kurt needed to keep his mind on track before it ran with that comment, because it could go so downhill so fast.

Kurt laughed nervously and walked over to S&E's suiting section. "Yes, that's not really advised for your Broadway debut. People would certainly be talking about you, but for all the wrong reasons." He glanced from a rack to Blaine, trying to make his selections. In the end, he picked out four suit combinations and shuffled Blaine to a fitting room. The first one was a 'god, no, turn right back around and take that off immediately,' the next two were just so-so, but the last one - when Blaine stepped out of the fitting room, Kurt couldn't resist drawing in a breath.

"Good, right?" Blaine asked, stepping in front of the three-way mirror. Good was an understatement. Red had always been a favorite color of Kurt's on Blaine, and the burgundy hue stood out beautifully on his skin. The jacket nipped in perfectly at Blaine's waist (and he was still so narrow in the hips, _damn him_) and the pants were a little loose, but that was nothing a little tailoring couldn't fix (Blaine's ass could look much more fabulous - Kurt knew firsthand).

"I think this is the one," Kurt said in a sing-song voice, coming up behind Blaine to straighten the suit out. He walked over to the tie selection. "Do you still love bow ties or would you prefer a regular one?"

Blaine let out a low chuckle at Kurt's question. "I can wear either. Surprise me."

Kurt picked out a plaid bow tie in a navy and red colorway that had just a hint of the burgundy without being too matchy-matchy. "Here," he said, standing behind Blaine to tie it for him. He was close enough to hear Blaine's breathing, slow and steady, and he made himself concentrate extra hard on the bow tying as to not get lost in it. "Perfect," Kurt said, stepping back to admire his work (and okay, maybe perhaps the man inside of it just a little bit).

Blaine nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right. This is the one." Their eyes met in the mirror and Kurt held Blaine's gaze for about ten seconds longer than he should have, but he just couldn't help himself.

Finally breaking eye contact, Kurt walked over to the table to grab his pincushion. "The jacket is pretty perfect but the pants need to be taken in." Kurt tried to focus as he worked silently, trying really hard not to accidentally catch Blaine's skin with a pin. Kurt could feel the lean muscle of Blaine's legs with his hands though, which made for quite a distraction. Blaine stayed silent as well, realizing Kurt shouldn't be distracted by conversation or just finding it epically strange that his ex-boyfriend was pretty much feeling up his legs.

"There," Kurt said, standing back up and looking at the silhouette of the pants in the mirror. "Hopefully I didn't prick you. With the pins, I mean." So much for not sticking his foot in his mouth.

Blaine either didn't catch Kurt's faux pas or chose to ignore it. "It looks great. Thanks, Kurt." He smiled at him in the mirror reflection, and Kurt nodded.

"Be careful taking it all off. I don't want you to tear your legs to shreds." If Kurt glanced at Blaine's ass as he walked back into the fitting room, it was just to make sure his tailoring was fine. At least that's what he told himself.

Kurt had moved behind the counter when Blaine returned from the dressing room, suit neatly folded. "So, I'm sure a gorgeous suit like that isn't cheap, what's my damage?"

"On the house," Kurt said, motioning for Blaine to put his wallet away. "Just pimp us out if you're asked what you're wearing. Broadway stars are the only people Frannie lets me give stuff away to, and last I checked, you were definitely one of those," Kurt added with a wink.

"Kurt," Blaine said warningly, before admitting defeat and starting to give in. "You really don't have to do this." Blaine rubbed aimlessly at the back of his neck, and the long sleeved tee he showed up in (probably the one he rehearsed in all day) rode up a little bit, showing off just a sliver of skin, and Kurt had to make himself physically look away because his mind was already in a not-so-pure place. Blaine sighed and said, "Okay, fine, on one condition. You let me buy you a drink tonight."

Kurt was suddenly a whole lot less tired than he was an hour ago.

-

There was a bar just across the street where Kurt had been with his coworkers after the closing shift when no one wanted to go home just quite yet. Kurt was sure Blaine would whip out his phone and invite Todd along, since Kurt had missed out on meeting him the night before, but it never happened. He and Blaine slipped into two stools in the corner of the bar and once their drinks were delivered, Kurt turned to Blaine.

"I really am glad you stopped by the shop," Kurt said, picking up his glass. Vodka was probably a bad idea, but he was past worrying about such things. "I didn't want to think I was making up an excuse about work to skip out on meeting the love of your life or something." He grinned at Blaine before taking a sip of his drink, and just about choked at the words that came out of Blaine's mouth next.

He chuckled a little, picking up his own drink and saying, "Todd's hardly the love of my life."

Well, then.

Kurt raised his brows questioningly, because _what do you say to that_? Blaine grimaced at his words, probably realizing that was a bit too much info for an ex you've barely seen since you broke up. He sighed and took a long sip of his drink before continuing. "Todd and I started seeing each other back in January. We met at a mutual friend's Christmas party. It's just – it's gone on longer than it should have, we both want different things. I was just too stupid to do anything because I didn't want to make it seem like I was too good for him now that I'm on Broadway, you know? God, I can't believe I'm telling you all this, I'm really sorry." Blaine rested his elbows on the bar counter and sighed into his hands. "This was the last thing I wanted to talk about."

Kurt sipped at his drink and let the new information settle. Blaine kept using the words 'seeing each other' not dating, and with them both wanting different things – this had started as something purely sexual and one of them wanted more. Kurt wasn't sure which, but he had a pretty good idea. Kurt was by no means judging – Kurt had been there before – and fairly often, if he was being honest with himself – in the recent years. He rested his hand on Blaine's arm comfortingly. "Blaine," he said, waiting for Blaine to turn and face him. "It's _so_ not my place to say anything, but you deserve to be happy. You should do whatever makes you happy."

Blaine opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but then shut it and reached for his drink. "Thanks, Kurt," he said after a long sip. "Okay, enough about that. I have five years of Rachel antics to catch up on! Most insane thing she's done – go!"

Kurt returned his hand to his glass and laughed loudly. "Oh, Blaine, where do I even begin?"

-

Kurt wasn't drunk. Two hours, six drinks, and what seemed like a hundred different stories passed back and forth later, Kurt wasn't drunk.

At least that's what he tried to tell Blaine when Blaine point blank asked him if he was drunk.

"I think you are. I've never seen you drunk," Blaine said, grinning wildly and swiveling to face Kurt. Blaine seemed quite toasty himself. "Your cheeks are bright red," he added, poking at Kurt's left cheek with his pointer finger.

"Stop it," Kurt scolded, batting away Blaine's hand, which was stupid. Blaine was touching him, why was he stopping it? To compensate, Kurt reached for Blaine's hand and held it between his palms. Blaine's hand was solid and warm, and Blaine didn't pull it away, just rested his chin on his other hand which was propped up on the bar. "You should feel lucky. Most people don't get to see me drunk." Kurt wasn't fond of being drunk – before or after. Tipsy, he enjoyed _thoroughly_, but drunk was a rare occasion.

"Are you happy, Kurt?" Blaine asked out of the blue, and oh, they were back to that again. He moved his arm from the bar counter and reached for Kurt's hands, which were still holding Blaine's left one. "You seem happy," he said, earnestly, rubbing his thumb over Kurt's knuckles. "I want you to be happy, too."

"I am," Kurt replied honestly, "I really am. I have a good job and good friends and am actually making it work in this crazy city, which was all I ever wanted." Kurt chewed at his bottom lip, contemplating saying something else, pointing out the one area his life was lacking, but decided against it.

"What?" Blaine asked, never missing a beat, as always. "What is it?"

"Nothing!" Kurt said quickly, probably too quickly to be believable. "It's just – I mean, my life isn't perfect, but for the most part yes, I am happy."

Blaine smiled at him and that was one of the things Kurt always loved about Blaine. Whenever he smiled at Kurt he just knew it was coming from a place of honesty and love. "Good," he said simply. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm happy too. I guess this is just – well, it's a big deal, you know? And ten years from now, when I look back on this moment, I just – I just want everything to be perfect. I know it's kind of selfish, but." Blaine shrugged and turned his glance to their oddly entwined hands.

"It should be perfect, Blaine. This is huge, and it's only going to happen once, and you have every right to be a little selfish. It should absolutely be perfect. Like I said, you really do deserve to be happy." Blaine glanced up at him at that point, and god, he still was the boy who wore his heart on his sleeve and showed every emotion on his face. That's the only excuse Kurt had for what came out of his mouth next aside from copious amounts of vodka.

"I could make you happy."

Blaine's expression turned to shock for a moment before switching to something darker (lust?) and oh, god, Kurt did not just say that. He'd been thinking it all night with the explicit instructions in his brain to not say it. It was cheesy and wrong and this is why Kurt didn't drink. He had to get out of there. He needed air.

"Kurt," Blaine whispered, and before he could continue, Kurt interrupted him.

"No, Blaine," he started, pulling his hands away from Blaine's. "I – I'm sorry, that was totally uncalled for and if we could just forget I said it, and I think I'm just going to have to thank you profusely for the drinks and leave because – well, yeah."

Kurt scrambled off his barstool, reaching for the counter to steady himself. "Kurt, wait," Blaine said, reaching for his arm, but Kurt pulled away from the bar.

"Goodnight, Blaine. Thanks again," Kurt said, locking eyes with Blaine for just a second before turning and walking away, hoping Blaine knew how sorry he was. Kurt felt more mortified than he ever had, and he had survived public school in Ohio, for goodness' sake. He made his way to the door, turning towards Blaine one last time before forcing himself out the glass door and into the cool night air.

-

Kurt had enough of his wits about him to drink a full bottle of water before collapsing into bed when he got home, and when he finally rolled out of bed the next day – well, it could have been a lot worse. He didn't feel too horrible, but looking in the mirror told another story. Kurt looked downright awful; there was no way around it. He hadn't slept much, tossing and turning all night and trying to forget about what had happened, which didn't actually work.

When he arrived at the shop, he looked bad enough that Kels thought he caught Mark's flu. She insisted he turn right around and head back home, seeming a little guilty that she'd been off while it was going around. Kurt wasn't in the mood to argue, so he grabbed Blaine's suit out of his office and headed home, figuring he could at least finish that there. It would give him something to do to keep his mind off the whole situation.

Kurt had just about finished his sewing by dinnertime, and he figured he should take a break to eat something – even though his stomach was telling him otherwise. He was staring at his kitchen cabinets, waiting for inspiration to come, when there was a knock on his door.

His stomach did another flip-flop, and it was probably for the best he couldn't figure out anything to eat. He _really_ hoped Blaine hadn't figured out where he lived from Rachel, but then decided Blaine would at least have the decency to have Kurt buzz him up. Rachel was the only one who liked to sneak in behind his neighbors.

"Yes, Rachel?" Kurt said, opening the door with a sigh.

"Why haven't you been answering your phone? I've been texting you!" Rachel proclaimed, barging in past him. "God, you look awful."

"Nice to see you too, Rach, come right in!" Kurt said, his voice laced with sarcasm. He'd discovered his phone was dead on the way to work and then plugged it into the wall socket when he returned back home without even looking at it. He shuddered to think how many texts and voice mails he had from her – let alone if he had any from Blaine. He walked over to the kitchen where his phone was and scrolled through the notifications. Nine missed texts – all from Rachel. Kurt felt conflicted as to whether or not he should feel relieved or disappointed there were none from Blaine.

"Earth to Kurt!" Rachel was saying as she snapped her fingers in front of his face. Crap, she had been talking.

"Sorry, what? And please don't talk so loud." Kurt walked over and collapsed on his couch, Rachel following behind, tossing his phone on the coffee table.

"What the hell happened last night? Why is no one telling me anything?" Rachel demanded, jabbing him in the ribs with her fingers. "You and Blaine are both ignoring me."

"Rachel, Blaine is in dress rehearsals for a Broadway show. He might be a little busy," Kurt pointed out. "And I legitimately didn't check my phone until you walked in. I'm sorry, okay?"

She pursed her lips, keeping silent until Kurt realized she was waiting for the story of what happened last night. "Why didn't you tell me he was coming to the shop? This would have been important information to know." Rachel just shrugged and pleaded with her eyes for more info. Kurt leaned back into the couch cushions and groaned. "We decided to go for drinks. Which, what was I thinking? I know, I know, I wasn't. It was fine, at first. We had a really great time, and shared stories. California treated him really well, I think." Kurt trailed off, trying to collect his thoughts and figure out how to explain it all to Rachel.

"And then?" Rachel probed – she wasn't going to give it a rest was she?

Kurt sighed and turned to face her. "And then I opened my big mouth and said he deserved to be happy and that I could make him happy. What was I thinking, Rachel? Why did I let myself say that?" Kurt groaned again and covered his face with his hands.

Rachel curled her arms around Kurt to give him a hug. "Oh, Kurt, that's kind of adorable and not really that bad."

"Not really that bad? Rachel, I just told my ex-boyfriend that I haven't really seen in five years _I could make him happy_. Coming from a drunk person, that not only sounds crude, but kind of creepy." He sighed heavily and slumped down to rest his head on Rachel's shoulder.

"Kurt!" Rachel exclaimed, trying to hold back a laugh and failing. "This is Blaine you're talking about. I'm sure he knew you meant it with the purest intentions."

Kurt refrained from making a comment on anyone's intentions and kept his mouth shut. "Honestly, Kurt, it could have been a lot worse. This doesn't mean you're never going to see him again, right? You can't hide out here forever!"

Kurt sat back up and glanced over at his worktable with Blaine's suit laying on it. "No, I have his suit for his opening night. I'll have to get it to him somehow. That would be kind of shitty of me to make one of the sales associates deliver it."

"Yes, it would be, and I won't allow it. Have you heard from him yet?" Rachel asked, releasing her grip on Kurt and settling on the other end of the couch.

Kurt picked up his discarded phone from the coffee table. "No. Is that … weird? Why didn't he? Am I overthinking this?"

"Yes," Rachel said immediately. "And this is coming from _me_, of all people. Kurt," she said, shoving the phone back in his hands when he tried to put it back down. "You know Blaine. He's giving you space because you implied you needed it. The ball is in your court. Don't drop it like you did last time."

Kurt smiled warmly at Rachel. "I am still impressed you know all those sports metaphors from when you dated Finn. He'd be so proud."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Just text him, Kurt."

"Okay," Kurt said as unlocked his phone. He could do this. What did he have to lose at this point?


	3. Chapter 3

The world must have been conspiring against Kurt, because the instant he ushered Rachel out his door, his phone rang. He'd sent Blaine a text (_Hey, I don't know what else to say aside from I'm sorry again_), and apparently, instead of responding like a normal individual, Blaine took it upon himself to call.

Kurt threw himself back down on the couch and answered with a grimace. "Hello?"

"Kurt!" Blaine exclaimed, sounding relieved. "It's so good to hear your voice, I was really worried you didn't make it home okay last night, and I know it's _stupid_, because you've obviously lived here a whole lot longer than I have but -"

"Blaine," Kurt said, interrupting him slowly. "You're talking very, very fast to a very, very hungover person."

"Oh," Blaine said, dropping his voice lower. "Okay. Sorry."

"There's no need to apologize." _I'm the one who should be apologizing for the rest of eternity,_ Kurt thought, but didn't say it out of the hope that Blaine really would forget about everything.

"I'm sorry for calling in the first place. I just - I needed to hear your voice to know you were okay."

Kurt sighed and rubbed at his face with his free hand and tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach that had nothing to do with being hungover. "I'm fine. Just hungover and humiliated."

"Kurt," Blaine said in a tone that was almost pitying, but Kurt knew Blaine well enough to know it was coming from a place of concern.

"So, your suit is almost done," Kurt said, choosing to ignore it and change the subject instead. "I was sent home from work because everyone thought I had caught the flu, so I actually got a lot of work done on it. I just have to finish putting a couple finishing touches on it since my work desk in the corner of my apartment isn't quite as well stocked as the shop."

"You were sick enough to get sent home and you decided the best use of your time was tailoring my suit instead of say, sleeping?" Blaine said, the amusement audible in his voice.

"Shut up," Kurt scoffed. "We're running out of time here! It didn't need much done to it anyways, and it was easy enough that I was on autopilot. Anyways, I can bring it by the theater after my shift tomorrow or if that doesn't work, Sunday or Monday? The earlier the better, though, since you actually need it for Tuesday, just in case there's anything I need to fix."

"Sunday would probably work best," Blaine replied, and did he sound _disappointed_? "Tomorrow night we're doing this cast thing after rehearsal and Monday I won't be there - they've decided we're in good enough shape to have a bit of rest before the final dress rehearsal Tuesday morning." He actually did sound disappointed - like he wanted to skip whatever cast thing he had the next night to see Kurt.

Kurt wasn't going to let that happen. "Sunday it is then!" he said cheerfully. "I have the opening shift Sunday, so I won't be too late getting over."

"Kurt," Blaine started, and the tone of his voice was making Kurt's stomach flutter again, and he _so_ was not in the right emotional state for whatever was going to come next.

"Blaine," Kurt said, trying to remain calm. "Maybe if we have things we need to say, we should wait until Sunday, okay?"

Blaine remained silent on the other end for a long while, but finally agreed. "Okay. If you think that's best."

"See you Sunday, Blaine," Kurt said quietly before hanging up the phone. His hands flew to his head again and groaned loudly. Since Blaine obviously had things to share, Kurt figured he better decide what he wanted to say to Blaine when he wasn't highly intoxicated. Not being highly intoxicated would probably be a start.

-

Sunday was another day where Kurt was running perpetually late, and by the time he made it down to Broadway, it was after six. He'd texted Blaine to let him know, and even though rehearsals were done for the day, Blaine said he'd stick around and wait for Kurt. Kurt felt bad making Blaine wait, since he was so low on time lately, but it was already done.

Gershwin was almost deserted when he breezed through the doors. A passing guard sent him to Blaine's dressing room and told him to just leave the suit since Blaine wasn't there. Kurt left the suit as instructed, and set off to find Blaine. As he wandered closer to the stage, he could hear Blaine singing. Of course he'd use this time for more practice.

Kurt walked cautiously through the wings until he spotted Blaine, who was running through the number at the end of the first act before intermission. The song was about how the football team had heart and it involved Blaine - or Barnaby, rather - dancing from group to group with a wooden stool in hand, propping himself up on it to continue his song.

Kurt found it ironic that Blaine was singing a song about heart – Blaine's warm and giving heart was one of the things Kurt had always loved most about him. He put his heart and soul into everything he loved, and this role was no exception. Kurt hoped Blaine wouldn't hate him too much for what he had to say. Kurt didn't even want to go down the road of whether or not Blaine would reciprocate his feelings, along the lines of how he didn't let him think about Blaine before a few weeks ago – and that had ended _splendidly_.

When he finally finished, Blaine's heavy breathing echoed in the empty theater and Kurt couldn't stop himself from clapping. Blaine spun around and saw Kurt, putting his hands on his hips and chuckling before sitting back down on his stool.

Kurt walked slowly over to him. "I didn't mean to startle you - I just didn't want to interrupt your practice."

"You weren't interrupting," Blaine said, breathing finally slowing down. "Kurt," Blaine started, reaching for Kurt's hands.

"Wait. Before you say anything, wait. I just - I need to get this out." Kurt exhaled and closed his eyes for a moment to compose himself. "I'm still horribly, horribly embarrassed as to how it all came out, but ... all of it was true. I was _stupid_ to think my feelings for you wouldn't come back the instant I saw you on this stage, Blaine, and if you don't feel the same way, that's fine -"

Kurt didn't get to finish the speech he'd prepared, because Blaine was wrapping his arm around Kurt's neck and pulling him down so their lips could meet. Blaine kissed him tentatively at first, until Kurt got over the shock of it all and started kissing him back. Blaine let out a gasp against Kurt's lips and trailed his arms down to his waist, pulling him closer. Kurt let himself get lost in the moment before something hit him. "Blaine," Kurt whispered, pulling back just enough to stop his head from swimming.

"I've been single since an hour after you left me Thursday night," Blaine breathed out. "I knew before you said anything. I realized when I saw you last weekend, when you and Rachel kept saying how proud you were of me - well, I realized there's still a part of me who_hoped_ you'd be proud of me, all these years later. I just –"

It was Kurt's turn to cut Blaine off with a kiss. Kurt wasn't quite sure what he'd done in a previous life to be so lucky, because kissing Blaine was just as wonderful as he remembered and he just couldn't imagine what on earth possessed him to give this up. "Oh, Blaine," Kurt said when they broke, reaching up to cup Blaine's face. He leaned down and pressed their foreheads together. "Why are we so stupid?"

Blaine smiled as he turned to place a kiss on Kurt's cheek and shrugged. "Could be worse. We figured it out, at least."

"Thank goodness for that," Kurt said, letting out a low laugh. "Come home with me," he said, lowering his voice, and there was that whole speaking without thinking again.

"Yeah," Blaine answered without hesitation. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

-

Kurt couldn't stop smiling the whole cab ride home to his apartment – he tried, chewing on the corner of his lip, but he just couldn't help it. Luckily, Blaine was just as giddy, reaching for Kurt's hand across the cracked leather seats, but otherwise staying silent on their drive. When they finally arrived outside Kurt's building, he paid the cab driver while Blaine fumbled with his suit. "How long have you been here?" Blaine asked as Kurt held the door open for him.

"Rachel and I moved into a two bedroom on the fifth floor … the middle of sophomore year?" Kurt replied, trying to remember the timeline as he hit the button for the elevator. "I loved the building so much, I moved into a loft when she moved in with Frank senior year. It's quiet – I think I skew the average age of occupancy down quite a bit," he said with a laugh as he filed into the elevator, Blaine close behind.

Kurt was on one of the top floors and it seemed like the elevator was moving unusually slow as it creeped past the lower floors. Blaine's brow furrowed as if he was about to make a comment, when the elevator dinged and the doors flew open. Kurt pulled his keys out of his pocket and grabbed Blaine's hand, leading him down the hall to his apartment.

After unlocking the door and giving Blaine a five second tour of the living room and kitchen, Kurt took Blaine's hand once more, pulling him behind the curtains he'd set up to separate the living room from his bedroom. "Try the suit on for me," Kurt said, patting the garment bag still slung over Blaine's arm. "That way I know whether or not I need to work on it tomorrow. You can use the closet or the bathroom – the closet has more room."

"The true reason you took the apartment comes out," Blaine teased before stepping into Kurt's closet. "This is practically as big as your bedroom!" Blaine exclaimed from behind the closed door.

"Mmmhmm," Kurt replied cheerfully, mindlessly straightening the pillows on his bed and toeing off his shoes for something to do to keep his mind occupied so he didn't barge into the closet and tell Blaine they'd worry about the suit later.

"Does it look okay?" Blaine said, emerging from Kurt's closest a few moments later and interrupting his thoughts. Blaine did a little spin for him, hands to either side, and Kurt stepped away from the bed to meet him. He brushed off Blaine's shoulders to get the suit to hang right and made Blaine spin one more time.

"Just perfect," Kurt said softly once Blaine was facing him again. He reached up to untie Blaine's tie swiftly with his fingers. "I'm going to take it off of you now," he added, a little breathless.

Blaine chuckled as Kurt slid the jacket off his shoulders and laid it neatly on his desk. "I'll have to remember I look good enough in this suit to get lucky."

It was Kurt's turn to laugh as his fingers worked at the buttons of Blaine's shirt. "Blaine, while you do look fantastic, I'm pretty sure what you're wearing has nothing to do with how bad I want you," he said, his voice light and teasing.

Blaine's eyes darkened at Kurt's words and he pulled Kurt closer to crash their lips together as the shirt fell to the floor. The kiss was different from the ones at the theater earlier – this one was needy and full of want and left Kurt gasping for air a bit when Blaine pulled back. "The feeling is mutual," Blaine whispered, slipping Kurt's own jacket off and pulling his sweater over his head as quickly as possible, tossing them to the floor in haste. Kurt couldn't really care about his own clothes at the moment, and he wouldn't care about Blaine's either if he didn't have to wear them again in a few days.

Kurt bent down to pick up Blaine's shirt and said, "Get yourself out of those pants and into the bed. As much as it pains me to care, I can't let us destroy this suit." Kurt folded the shirt and set it on top of the jacket and slung the pants over his desk chair, and when he turned to see Blaine in his bed, naked aside from his briefs, he had to pause a moment to stare.

"Kurt," Blaine breathed out, shifting under Kurt's scrutiny. Right, right, Kurt thought, go _join_ him. He quickly shed his undershirt and jeans and climbed into bed with Blaine, straddling his waist and leaning down to kiss him again.

Blaine moaned against his lips and curled his hand around the back of Kurt's neck to bring him even closer. Kurt trailed his mouth down Blaine's jaw and back up his cheek to whisper hot and heavy in Blaine's ear. "Tell me what you want, Blaine," he said, shifting and rolling his hips down and groaning along with Blaine when their cocks brushed momentarily.

"I want so much, Kurt, so much," Blaine said as they rocked slowly together, only continuing when Kurt prompted him again. "I want you inside of me. Is that too much? God, Kurt it's – when I jerk off – it's what I think about most still." Kurt stilled for a moment, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Blaine _still_ had fantasies about him, even after all this time, and Blaine finally said, "I just weirded you out, didn't I?"

"No," Kurt blurted out, because that was so not the case. "That's – I just still can't believe after all this time … you'd still think of me in that way."

"Of course I do," Blaine said grinning and resting his hands on Kurt's hips. "Are you saying you haven't thought about me?"

Damn him. "I didn't say _that_," Kurt said, biting his lip and staring at the ceiling and feeling the familiar blush creep over his cheeks and down his chest. Blaine laughed softly and trailed a finger down Kurt's now pink chest, flipping them before Kurt even realized what was going on.

Kurt returned his gaze to Blaine's face, wondering what Blaine had up his sleeve because Blaine was actually smirking at him. "Maybe we'll save that for round two," Blaine explained, his voice low and throaty and making Kurt's cock twitch against Blaine's stomach, where he was nestled in between Kurt's legs. "I thought of something I want more right now."

"And what would that be?" Kurt asked, quirking an eyebrow at him and exhaling slowly.

"You'll see," Blaine teased, bringing their lips together once more briefly before working his mouth down Kurt's body. Kurt was entirely grateful for Blaine's sharp memory, because Blaine remembered every single spot that made Kurt quiver, spending extra time licking and sucking at the sensitive spot under Kurt's collarbone and his right nipple and the spot on his ribcage. By the time Blaine was nipping at Kurt's hipbones, he was thoroughly worked up and Blaine hadn't even touched his cock yet.

"Blaine, please," Kurt begged, shivering from the way Blaine's teeth grazed his skin, causing his stomach to twist up hotly, "please, I need –"

Blaine smiled against Kurt's skin, moving his left hand to cup Kurt through his briefs and Kurt sighed at the contact, even though it wasn't nearly enough. "Is that what you wanted?" Blaine teased, his mouth still against Kurt's skin, the words vibrating through him. He toyed with the waistband of Kurt's underwear and Kurt shifted to help Blaine get them off of him, pretty much desperate for more contact.

"You still look amazing, Kurt," Blaine whispered before sinking his mouth over the head of Kurt's cock slowly. Kurt groaned loudly at Blaine's actions and really, really hoped his neighbors were out for the evening. Blaine moaned around Kurt's cock himself after hearing Kurt cry out, and he swirled his tongue under the head before pulling off to mouth down the length of it, tracing his tongue down the sides and moving his hand to keep Kurt's cock interested as he sucked one of Kurt's balls in his mouth.

It was all too much and not enough to the point where Kurt's nerves were on end. Blaine kept up the slow and leisurely pace and just when Kurt was about to beg for more, sunk his mouth down as far down as it would go, eliciting another loud groan from Kurt (who was past caring about the neighbors at this point).

Kurt had been worked up for so long, by the time Blaine's mouth sped up in intensity, he could already feel the familiar pressure building. When Blaine dropped his throat open, Kurt practically saw stars as the head of his cock brushed the back of Blaine's throat. Kurt may have been with more technically skilled lovers since Blaine, but no one could match Blaine's enthusiasm, and that would always do it for Kurt, always. His orgasm hit him hard as Blaine swallowed around him, and as Blaine pulled off, Kurt heard him cry out himself – he was coming and Kurt hadn't even touched him. He was still wearing his underwear, for goodness' sake.

"Blaine," Kurt said once he had his wits about him, resting his head on Blaine's shoulder as he settled into the pillows next to him. "You came and I didn't even touch you."

"Sorry," Blaine said, lazily smacking a kiss against Kurt's cheek and not really seeming sorry at all. "I promise you can touch me _all you want_ in round two."

"I'm going to hold you to that," Kurt sighed, burying his head against Blaine's chest. "So, round two? What happens after that?"

"Well, we're both off tomorrow, aren't we?" Blaine said playfully, his fingers tracing lines down Kurt's back. "I'm sure we can come up with a few more rounds. We haven't even gotten to what you want yet," he teased, his eyes twinkling.

Kurt locked eyes with Blaine and pulled him closer. "Don't worry about that. I've got everything I need right here."

-

Kurt sipped on his glass of champagne as he stood with Rachel at the Tackled! opening afterparty. The show had been brilliant, which was just the icing on the cake of the perfection that had been the past two days. He watched as Blaine worked the room and schmoozed, Kurt himself having exhausted conversations with the few people he knew there (Blaine's parents – that was certainly awkward, a few Warblers, some former classmates from NYADA). Blaine was positively glowing and was definitely in his element – Rachel, of course, pointed out Kurt probably had something to do with some of that glow (to which he smacked her arm and told her to mind her own business).

"Kurt, we're heading out," Rachel announced, patting his arm as she passed off her empty champagne glass to a nearby waiter. "My flight tomorrow morning is quite early." Rachel was headed, ironically, back to the Midwest to visit various sectionals competitions as NYADA's representative.

"Travel safe, and thanks for coming," Kurt said, bending to kiss both of her cheeks. "I know it meant a lot to Blaine that you did." He smiled warmly at her before turning to shake Frank's hand and say goodbye to him before he headed off towards the door.

"Keep Blaine glowing," Rachel said with a mischievous wink before turning and skipping to catch up with Frank, linking arms with him. Kurt just shook his head as they headed out of the restaurant. Blaine caught his eye at that point and realized Kurt was left alone. He excused himself and made his way through the crowd until he was standing in front of Kurt.

"Rachel and Frank had to go. They both agreed you were brilliant. _Everyone_ agrees you're brilliant," Kurt said, grinning at Blaine and reaching up to straighten his tie. "And, the suit looks spectacular, if I do say so myself."

"Thanks for making sure I didn't show up naked," Blaine said, reaching for two fresh glasses of champagne from a waiter's tray and handing one to Kurt.

"No, I think I'll keep that version of you for myself. I'm selfish like that," Kurt said, raising his flute at Blaine. "What are we toasting to?"

"To us, of course," Blaine said, smiling broadly at him. "To the future. Because every version of my future has you in it."

"Oh, Blaine," Kurt said, sneaking a quick kiss before clinking their glasses together. "Now that's something I can toast to."


End file.
